Murray State
Southeast Missouri
'Breds Split Twinbill With SEMO
4/1/2007 5:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Murray State Thoroughbreds avoided a series sweep by visiting Southeast Missouri State by winning the second game of today's double-header in exciting fashion, scoring the game-winning run in the bottom of the last inning to win 6-5. The 'Breds dropped the first game of the twinbill 17-3.
In accordance with Ohio Valley Conference rules, both games of the double-header were to be seven innings, and that was just enough for MSU in Game 2.
Southeast Missouri (19-8, 5-1 OVC) broke up a scoreless tie with four runs in the top of the fourth inning, but Murray State (6-19, 3-3 OVC) responded in the bottom half of the inning when senior second baseman Seth Hudson led off with a single, then senior first baseman James Akin singled him to third. Senior catcher Jason Payton walked to load the bases, and Hudson scored when senior center fielder Tyler Pittman hit into a double play, moving Akin to third. Sophomore third baseman Tyler Owen then stepped up and hit a 1-0 pitch over the left-field fence for his third homer of the year to cut the SEMO lead to 4-3.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Redhawks added a run to push their lead to 5-3, but the 'Breds answered again when Akin hit a one-out single, then Payton walked. Pittman slapped a two-run double into left field to tie the game at 5-5.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, junior right fielder Matt Scheer led off and reached on catcher's interference. Senior designated hitter Austin Swain then walked, and both runners advanced a base on a wild pitch. Hudson then singled through the right side to score Scheer and give Murray State the 6-5 win.
"It's always good to put games like that first game behind you and come back with a vengeance," said MSU head coach Rob McDonald. "We played that last game well, and the first game of the series well yesterday. I'm proud of the way our players came back and fought to win that game."
Hudson went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a run batted in, while Akin went 2-for-3 with two runs. Owen had a home run with two RBIs, while Pittman had a double with two RBIs. Defensively, Akin had seven putouts, while sophomore shortstop Justin Yount had a game-high four assists.
For SEMO, Omar Padilla, Jim Klocke and Matt Wagner each had two hits, while Klocke, Wagner and Daniel Schuh each had doubles. Defensively, catcher Blocke had nine putouts, while shortstop Robby Moore had two assists.
On the mound, freshman left-hander Jake Donze (2-3, 1-0 OVC) got the win in relief, striking out three of the four batters he faced in the seventh inning and walking one. Freshman lefty Bryan Baldini started for the 'Breds, allowing four runs (two earned) on seven hits, striking out four and walking two in 4-2/3 innings. Freshman right-hander Brad Rowland came on in the fifth, allowing one run on two hits, walking one in 1-1/3 innings.
For the Redhawks, Phillip Riley (4-2, 0-1 OVC) took the loss, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits, striking out two and walking three in two-thirds of an inning. Josh Syberg started for SEMO, allowing four runs on five hits, striking out seven and walking one in 5-1/3 innings.
In the first game of the day, Southeast Missouri scored the first seven runs and the last eight runs of the game en route to the 17-3 final.
Trailing 7-0 in the second inning, Payton led off with a double, then scored on a single by Owen to put the 'Breds on the scoreboard, 7-1.
SEMO scored two runs in the third inning to take a 9-1 lead, but in the fourth inning, MSU responded, as Payton led off with a walk, then Pittman singled him to second. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, then Owen hit a two-run single to cut the deficit to 9-3. The Redhawks tacked on five runs in the fifth inning, two in the sixth and one in the seventh.
Owen went 3-for-3 with three RBIs, while Payton went 2-for-2 with a double and two runs scored. Defensively, Akin had a game-high eight putouts, while Owen had a game-high four assists.
For SEMO, Matt Wulfers went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, two runs scored and six RBIs. Klocke went 2-for-2 with two doubles, four runs and two RBIs. Defensively, first baseman Wagner had six putouts, while second baseman Padilla had three assists.
On the mound, junior righty Mike Perconte (2-4, 1-1 OVC) took the loss, allowing seven runs on nine hits, striking out two and walking two in 1-2/3 innings. Junior right-hander Drew Leeper entered in the second inning, allowing two runs on three hits in 1-1/3 innings. Senior lefty Jon Newton entered in the fourth inning, allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits and walking three in 1-1/3 innings, and sophomore righty Daniel Harris closed out the game, allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits, striking out one and walking one in 2-2/3 innings.
For SEMO, Asif Shah (3-0, 1-0 OVC) got the complete-game win, allowing three runs on eight hits, striking out eight and walking two in seven innings.
Murray State visits OVC rival Eastern Illinois for a three-game series. The teams will play a double-header on Friday, beginning at 1 p.m., followed by a Saturday 1 p.m. game. Each game can be heard locally through WOFC (1130 AM, Murray) or worldwide through the audio link at www.GoRacers.com.
TAKE A 'SERIES' LOOK: Tyler Owen was 8-for-9 (.889) against Southeast Missouri this weekend, getting a double and a home run for a weekend slugging percentage of 1.333. Owen scored two runs and drove in five, and had an on-base percentage of .909. Swain hit .429 (3-for-7) with a double, a run and two RBIs and had an on-base percentage of .600. As a team, Murray State hit .292 against the Redhawks, while SEMO hit .324.
THE WEEK LINK: For the entire week, senior right fielder Jamie Leidolf went 4-for-8 (.500), hitting two doubles and scoring three runs. Austin Swain hit .417 (5-for-12) with a double, a run and four runs batted in, and had an on-base percentage of .533. Seth Hudson went 6-for-18 (.333) with two doubles, a triple, two runs and two RBIs, slugging .556 with an on-base percentage of .368.
On the mound, freshman left-hander Matt McGaha had a 1.12 earned-run average, allowing one earned run on eight hits, striking out three and walking one in eight innings over two games. Bryan Baldini had a 3.86 ERA, allowing two earned runs on seven hits, striking out four and walking two in 4-2/3 innings this week.
